Principal News

Dear Marian Catholic College Community,

We are now in our third week of Lent and only a few short weeks away to Easter followed by the Term 1 holiday break.

This week the focus of all schools has been on NAPLAN for Year 7 and 9, where our students are assessed in Writing, Reading, Numeracy and Spelling and Grammar. You may be aware that there were some technical issues with delivery of NAPLAN on Wednesday for schools across the country, including Marian. 

The team led by Mr Herb and Mr Summerville, along with Mrs Jenkins, Mrs Fisher and the Marian IT team and teachers worked very hard to adjust schedules, troubleshoot any technical issues with ACARA and settle students so they could give their best effort to complete this assessment. We are really pleased with how well our students approached NAPLAN, especially the Year 7’s, who would be completing it as a cohort in the Marcellin Hall for the first time. Once results become available, we will send these out to parents and carers.

International Women’s Day Breakfast and Awards

Today, Soroptimist International Griffith celebrated International Women’s Day with a Leaders breakfast that included special guest speaker Heather Swan, who gave an inspirational talk on conquering fear to achieve your dreams. Marian Year 11 student Emma Cunial was awarded a Soroptimist Young Student Leader Award, along with students from Wade, Griffith and Verity Christian College. College Captain Zara Gugliemino attended to support Emma. Present also were Mrs Star, Mrs Segrave and Mrs Hone along with myself. Supporting Soroptimists' and International Women’s Day, and also attending the breakfast were Mrs Munro, with her daughter Elise (College Captain 2025) and Mrs Sithole Kudzu, Ms Brill and Miss Tithi Patel.

Emma Cunial received this award for leadership through modelling care for others and her participation and work on peer support and the wellbeing committee in previous years. Emma is a quiet leader who manages to balance her school commitments with concern for the wellbeing of the wider community and the importance of an inclusive and welcoming school environment for all students. Congratulations Emma! And well done to all of our young female leaders in the school, who like Zara and Emma, are wonderful models of the College’s emphasis on Faith, Learning, Care, Service and Stewardship. 

Year 7 Community Day-Friday 6th-A great day and event, organised by Year 7 Pastoral Leader Mrs Centofanti last Friday. It was so heartening to see the Year 7 students have so much fun and engage in all of the activities. Congratulations also to the Year 10 Peer Support team and Mr Matheson for their assistance on the day.

RYDA program- Year 11 students and Mr Morris and teachers attended for the day at Yanco Agricultural College on Wednesday 11. RYDA stands for Rotary Youth Driver Awareness

Harmony Day-Coming up next Friday March 20 and we can’t wait! Stay tuned and advance thanks to all the many involved in this whole school event and celebration of the many rich and diverse cultural traditions in Griffith. Mr Abdala, Mrs Lole, Mr Segrave and many others have been very busy in this space so far.

St Patrick’s Feast Day- Tuesday week 8. Ms Uoifaleleha, Mrs Reynolds, Year 12 and Patrick House have some wonderful celebrations planned for Tuesday including Gaelic football matches during lunch and recess.

• Fifita Cup Coming Up over the next 2 Monday afternoons for Girls and Boys NRL Open Events at Solar Mad Stadium.
• Presentations by the Youth guard Police next Friday periods 3 and 4 after the Harmony Day events. 
• Year 7 students will attend a Staying Safe Online Presentation
• Year 8 students will attend a presentation that focuses on the issues around hate speech, including what it is and what it isn't.

Finally, a thought for Lent as we move closer towards Easter and the sacred mystery of the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. During this time we work towards reconciliation and forgiveness for ourselves and a closer relationship with our faith. Pope Leo has also asked that we pray regarding the conflict in the Middle East so that “weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open in which the voice of the peoples can be heard”.